Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has said he is reluctant to fire employees, preferring instead to “work them hard to make them great,” a strategy he claims has made the company one of the world's most valuable companies.
Hwang said his employees work seven days a week, sometimes until 2 a.m., but don't work overtime because of the high pay. Hwang said his attitude toward his employees has been key to the success of Nvidia, the $3.1 trillion chipmaker that makes semiconductors that underpin artificial intelligence technology.
“When you fire someone, many people say, 'It's not your fault,' or 'I made the wrong choice,' or 'There are very few jobs,'” Huang said in a June interview, when asked why he doesn't fire people.
Huang also explained his belief in giving employees the opportunity to advance within the organization, recalling his previous job cleaning toilets.
“I used to clean toilets and now I'm the CEO of a company. I think you can learn too. I'm sure you can learn this,” Huang said.
“I believe there is a lot to learn in life; you just need to be given the opportunity to learn it.”
The 61-year-old Huang has a net worth of He is valued at $111 billion on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.He said he is “constantly learning” from the 60 people who report to him.
“So I don't want to give up on them because I think they have room to improve,” the Nvidia president added.
“Just kidding, but people know I'd rather make them suffer and be great.”
Huangji said he believes “coaches who truly believe in their teams will make their teams suffer to make them great.”
“And a lot of times they're so close, so don't give up. They're so close to greatness.”
A group of current and former Nvidia employees He told Bloomberg News It emerged earlier this week that employees are staying on despite a high-pressure work environment that demands long hours and meetings that often escalate into shouting matches and fights.
But employees end up staying thanks to the company's generous stock compensation plan.
Stock options granted to employees only vest after four years, providing a strong incentive for employees to stay with the company.
Nvidia's stock price has soared more than 3,700% since 2019, meaning that engineers who worked at the company back then have recently become new billionaires.
Just 5.3% of Nvidia's employees left the company last year, a number that was cut in half as the company's market capitalization surpassed $1 trillion.
By comparison, the average turnover rate in the chip industry is 17.7%.
The Post has reached out to Nvidia for comment.
